The Argentine government is pushing to determine a man-made intelligence (AI) future crime prediction unit much like the crime prediction system within the movie “Minority Report.” Experts have warned that the move could threaten residents’ rights, including the potential for inappropriate repression and human rights abuses.
The Guardian, Cointelegraph, and others reported on the first (local time) that Argentine President Javier Millei is establishing a department to make use of AI to predict and stop future crimes.
In keeping with this, the Argentine Security Ministry will establish an Applied AI Unit (UIAAS) led by the Director General for Cybercrime and Cyber Affairs, along with the Argentine Federal Police and the Security Forces. Its foremost tasks include detecting suspicious activities and identifying wanted individuals through real-time evaluation of CCTV images, detecting abnormal patterns and cyber threats online, aerial surveillance using drones, handling explosives using robots, and monitoring suspicious financial transactions.
A notable task is ‘predicting future crimes through evaluation of past crime data’. The Ministry of Public Security explained that it is feasible to dam potential criminal acts upfront by utilizing machine learning algorithms.
Nevertheless, civic groups and academia are concerned about the potential for the state establishing an excessive surveillance and control system.
The Center for Research on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information on the University of Palermo in Argentina told X (Twitter) that the choice was “concerning given the uncertainty surrounding the implementation and feasibility of the technology involved, in addition to the unclear allocation of responsibility,” and warned that “similar methods have been used previously to profile academics, journalists, politicians, and activists critical of the federal government.”
“If people begin to suspect that their comments or posts are being monitored by the authorities, this may have implications for freedom of expression, because it would be tantamount to encouraging them to not share their opinions,” said Miraela Belski, director of Amnesty International Argentina.
Meanwhile, Argentine President Javier Millay, who took office in December of last 12 months, announced a robust response to numerous criminal acts immediately after taking office.
Reporter Park Chan cpark@aitimes.com
